Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Can businesses require their employees to disclose their vaccination status? Can they fire you if you don't want to get vaccinated? Is it OK to ask your colleagues about their status? On Today's Show:Robert Iafolla, reporter covering labor and employment for Bloomberg Law, joins to discuss what employers can and cannot mandate. Plus, he takes listener calls on how they would like their offices to reopen.

There are internal disputes at the American Civil Liberties Union over its tradition of defending all speech, including neo-Nazi protests and Klan rallies. On Today's Show:Nadine Strossen, professor of law at New York Law School, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, member of the ACLU’s National Advisory Council, and author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship (Oxford University Press, 2020), and Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation and consultant for Radiolab, discuss how The American Civil Liberties Union is grappling with prioritizing cases, and whether First Amendment battles are more important than other, more progressive battles.

Vice President Harris has been tasked with righting the nation's broken immigration system.  On Today's Show: Anita Isaacs, professor of political science at Haverford College and director of Migration Encounters, argues that if the U.S. rethinks its approach to people coming from Guatemala, it could begin to fix the broken system.

Tennis player Naomi Osaka dropped out of the French Open after being fined for not holding a press conference. So what do you do when you love the work, but hate the working conditions? On Today's Show:Lindsay Crouse, an Opinion writer, and producer for The New York Times, talks about why Naomi Osaka's exit from the French Open was a powerful message to the sports establishment. Plus, your calls on times you quit something in protest and whether your absence effected any change for good.

We look at how the Tulsa Race Massacre was just one of many examples of racist violence that we weren't taught about in school, and what it means to unpack that history. On Today's Show:Jamelle Bouie, New York Times opinion columnist and CBS News analyst, talks about the many other moments in United States history, besides the massacre in a Black neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921, where White Americans committed organized acts of terror seeking the destruction of Black communities and neighborhoods.

After a year of racial reckoning, and centuries of systemic white supremacy, we turn again to the question of reparations and a city in Illinois that could serve as a model for the nation. On Today's Show:Andre Perry, senior fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, a scholar-in-residence at American University, and a columnist for the Hechinger Report, breaks down what reparations might look like, what it would mean for Black Americans.

The Tokyo Olympics will press on, despite Japan's ongoing fight against COVID, and despite the objections of Japanese citizens. How will they pull it off? On Today's Show:Steve Wade, sports writer covering Tokyo and Asia for the Associated Press, talks about why Japan is planning to host the summer Olympics despite opposition from some epidemiologists and residents in the area.

This week marks 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst instances of racial violence since slavery. What does justice look like for the families who were attacked and displaced? On Today's Show:KalaLea, host of WNYC Studios’ new podcast, Blindspot: Tulsa Burning and DeNeen Brown, staff writer at The Washington Post and professor of journalism at the University of Maryland discuss the current reckoning with the Tulsa Race Massacre and why many are calling for reparations for family members of the decedents.

The Supreme Court will soon hand down its first big rulings since the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney-Barrett cemented the conservative Justice's 6-3 majority. On Today's Show:Jami Floyd, senior editor for race and justice and legal editor at WNYC, previews the final month of the Supreme Court's term, plus talks about some of the hot-button cases they will take up next fall.

One possible way to bring racial justice to policing is to hire more cops of color. A look into two Long Island PDs showed a pattern of bias against Black and Hispanic candidates. On Today's Show:Jim Baumbach, Newsday investigative reporter, talks about his reporting that Black and Latino applicants are much less likely to be hired as Nassau or Suffolk County police officers.